Kane swears in: "it starts tomorrow"

Photo by Mary Wilson / witf

The state officially has its new top law enforcement officer – the first woman and Democrat ever elected to the post.

“Make no mistake about it, ladies and gentlemen,” said inauguration emcee Dan McCaffery. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and her name is Kathleen Granahan Kane.”

She was sworn in during a ceremony in the state Capitol rotunda, with observers packing the main hall and balconies three floors up. For all the swagger of the introductions, the remarks from the new attorney general were tame.

“You will see the office of attorney general take a leadership role on the front lines: aggressive, efficient, and mission-focused,” she said.

But Kane’s tone during the inauguration was far less contentious than it had been on the campaign trail.

In attendance was Gov. Corbett, who was criticized by Kane on the campaign trail for his handling of the Jerry Sandusky case while he headed the attorney general’s office. Kane told reporters later that plans are coming along for the special deputy, who will investigate how the case was prosecuted. She said that person would be appointed within the next week.

“Today was about ceremony and pageantry, and tomorrow it’s about substance for the next four years,” said Kane to reporters after the inauguration. “It’s about what we can do to make our streets safer, it’s about what we can do to eradicate public corruption and everything that we talked about during the campaign. It starts tomorrow at nine o’clock.”

She did not share her thoughts on another hot-button issue in the Capitol these days: a contract to lease the operations of the state lottery to a private company. Her office has to review the contract before it’s finalized. As she was hustled away from reporters, she said her office would do what the law “prescribes.”